Machine for mining coal.



L. G. WILLIAMS. MAQHINE FOR MINING GOAL. APPLIOATION rum) 00T.28, 1911.

1 ,043, 1 83. Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

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MACHINE FOR MINING GOAL.

APPLICATION FILED 0013.28, 1911,

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2v @Hoznu L. G. WILLIAMS. MACHINE FOR MINING GOAL. APPLICATION FILED 0GT.2B, 1911.

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Snow/tow I 42425 Emmi/25 WWW Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

LOUIS G. WILLIAMS, F HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY.

MACHINE FOR MINING COAL.

Specif cation of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

Application filed October 128, 1911. Serial 1101657202.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS G. WILLIAMS,

v a citizen of the United States, residing at Hopkinsville, in the county of 1 Christian and State of Kentucky, have invented neW land useful Improvements in Machines for Mining Goal, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to an improved machine for mining coal.

Heretofore in the mining of .coal explosives have been universally or largely used for the purpose ofloosenin the coal from the vein, drills being usua ly employed in order to p'reparethe holes for the reception of the explosives. Very many lives are each "year sacrificed under the prevailing system, sometimes by unforeseen accidents and sometimes owing to carelessness in the handling of explosives. e

The present invention' has for its principal'object to provide a method or system whereby the mining-of coal maybe effectively carried out either without resorting to the use of explosives or. by using the 'same only in limited quantities as compared with the methods now in vogue.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will "be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of theinvention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

' strain and wear.

taken on the line 7-7 in Fig. 1.. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line rial, said frame being suitablyreinforced in any customary and convenient manner to provide the necessary strength to resist The frame structure comprises two principal portions which for convenience will be referred to as the inner and outer portions, the inner portion 1 being that which in operation travels in the kerf or cut formed in the coal, while the outer frame portion 2 is that which occupies a position exterior of the cut and which carries the principal portion of the motive mechanism and which for this reason may be made of a thickness exceeding that of the inner frame portion 1. The outer frame portion 2 is also extended forwardly of the seen in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, for the purpose of supporting the endless cutting apparatus, whereby the horizontal cut or kerf is to be formed. The outer frame portion 2 is equipped with bearings for the main driving shaft 3 which may be actuated by hand by means of a crank applied to a squared portion 4 of said shaft, or power may be applied in any suitable manner from any convenient source of power. The shaft 3 carries a spur wheel 5 meshing with a pinion 6 on a counter shaft 7 which is connected by a driving chain 8 with a shaft 9 having a bevel gear 10 meshing with a bevel gear 11 upon a vertical or upright shaft 12 which is thus driven. The forwardly extending portion of the frame is provided with a bracket member 13 which extends laterally in front of the inner portion of the frame, said bracket member affording a bearing for a shaft 14. An endless chain 15 equipped with cutting teeth or chisels 16 is guided over the shafts 12 and 14 which are provided with guide wheels or pulleys 17 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The. counter shaft 7 is extended beyond the inner end of the frame portion 1, and

said shaft constitutes an arbor'carrying a circular saw or cutting apparatus 18. The

cutting teeth or chisels 19 associated with said rotary cutter or saw may be constructed substantially like the teeth or cutters 16 associated with the endless chain 17 said cutters being preferably made detachable for convenience in shar ening and replac- 1ng, and said teeth or chisels may be held in position for operation by means of set screws 20 or other suitable means. It will be ob- 7 served that the rotary cutter 18 in practice cide with the inner end of the cut or kerf formed by the endless cutting apparatus.

The inner frame portion 1 supports two longitudinally disposed shafts 21,said shafts being disposed in parallel relation. Each of said shafts carries a worm 22, the threads of which project through aperturesin the skeleton frame structure above and below the upper'and lower faces of the frame so as to be'capable of engaging the upper andlower v so when the machine is in operation.

walls'or faces of the horizontal cut or kerf formed by the endless cutting apparatus These worms constitute the feeding apparatus of the device, and said worms are to be made sufficiently stout and heavy to grip the coal for the purpose of feeding the machine to its work.

For the purpose of driving the worm carrying shafts, said shafts are provided at their rear ends with bevel pinions 23 with which bevel pinions 24 upon a countershaft '25 may be made to mesh. The pinions 24: are slidably fitted upon the countershaft 25 wi h which they are connected for rotation by means of keys or splines 26, and said pinions 24 may be moved longitudinally of the shaft 25 to place them into or out of engagementavith the bevel pinions 23 by means of shipping levers 27 pivoted on the frame and connected by means of rods 28 with hand levers '29 fulcrumed upon the outer frame portion 2 and whereby they may be conveniently manipulated. The countershaft 25 carries a worm gear 30 meshing with a worm 31 on the'transmission shaft which is connected by miter gearing 33 with the main shaft 3 whereby it is driven.

It will be'seen that by the mechanism herein described motion will be transmitted from the main shaft to the worm carrying shaft 21, and that said worm carrying shaft may be operated simultaneously or independently, the latter being sometimes desirable in case one end of the machine should lag behind the other end in operation.

The counter shaft 25 has been shown as provided, said gage wheels being supported for rotation upon the outer frame portion 2 adjacent to the inner'edge of the latter by means of brackets or keepers 37 In using this improved machine the-endless cutting apparatus is presented horizontally to the vein of .coal at the mouth or outer end of the entry at a suitable distance below the roof so as to make a horizontal cut or kerf while the rotary cutter'18 makes a vertical cut'or incision, as'will be clearly understood by reference-to Figs. 1, 2 and 6 of the drawings. It will be understood that by repeating the operation two or more vertical as well as horizontal cuts or kerfs may be formed. In preparing the machine for operation, the end of the rope or cable 35 will also be made fast to a fixed point, such as a suitable post or stake, atthe inner end of the entry. When the main shaft 3 is rotated, motion will be transmitted to the cutting apparatus, aswell as to the feeding apparatus of the machine, the latter being fed forward and supported in position by hand or by any suitable supporting means until the worms 22 firmlyengage the horizontal cut or kerf, when the machine will be supported in the horizontal kerf that it makes for itself, the feeding being automatically effected by the worms 22 and the auxiliary apparatus including the drum 34 and the cable 35. The machine is first applied to the right hand wall of the entry, and when the inner end of the latter is reached, the machine may be swung around adjacent to the inner end of the entry and into ngagementwith the left wall, when by continuing the operation, the machine will finally emerge adjacent to the left hand side of the mouth or entry. After withdrawing the machine, or as the latter becomes sufficiently advanced, the coal may be readily broken down in the shape of blocks of convenient size, the breaking down being efiected almost entirely by the weight of the coal itself which may be assisted by the use of wedges or other suitable means.

As will be seen from the. foregoing description, the coal mined by the improved machine is reduced to lumps of convenient size for loading into the mining cars, and much unnecessary waste is avoided. The coal being produced in lumps of convenient size will also be found commercially more valuable.

The machine is simple in operation and thoroughly efficient for the purposes for which it is provided.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as. new, is

1. In a machine for mining coal, a frame structure comprising inner and outer frame portions, the outer frame portion being of a thickness exceeding that of the inner frame portion, said outer frame portion being extended in advance of the inner frame portion and provided with a bracket that extends laterally in front of the inner frame portion feeding devices carried by the inner frame portion, vertical shafts supported for rotation at the end of said bracket and in the forwardly extended end of the outer frame portion, an endless horizontal cutting apparatus "uided over said shafts, a maindriven shaft supported for rotation in the outer frame port-ion, a counter shaft supported for rotation in the frame andextended beyond the inner edge of the inner frame portion, a vertical cutting member on the counter shaft, means for transmitting motion from the counter shaft to the endless horizontal cutting apparatus, and means for transmitting motion from the driving shaft to the counter shaft.

2. In a machine for mining coal, a frame structure comprising inner and outer frame portions, the outer frame portion being of a thickness exceeding that of the inner frame portion, said outer frame portion being extended in advance of the inner frame portion and provided with a bracket that extends laterally in front of the inner frame portion, vertical shafts supported for rotation at the end of said bracket and in the forwardly extended end of the outer frame portion, an endless horizontal cutting apparatus guided over said shafts, a main driven shaft supported for rotation in the outer frame portion, a counter shaft supported ,for rotation in the frame and extending beyond the inner edge of the-inner frame portion, a vertical cutting member carried by the counter shaft, means for transmitting motion from the counter shaft to the endless horizontal cutting apparatus, means for transmitting motion from the driving shaft to the counter shaft, longitudinal shafts supported for rotation in the inner frame portion, worms carried by said shafts and extending above and below the upper and lower faces of said frame portion, and means for transmitting motion from the main driven shaft to the worm carrying shafts.

3. In a machine for mining coal, a frame structure comprising inner and outer frame portions, the outer frame portion being of a thickness exceeding that of the inner frame portion, said outer frame portion being extended in advance of the inner frame portion and provided with a bracket that extends laterally in front of the inner frame portion, vertical shafts supported for rotation at the end of said bracket and in the forwardly extended end of theouter frame portion, an endless horizontal cutting apparatus guided over said shafts, a main driven shaft supported for rotation in the outer frame portion, a counter shaft supported for rotation in the frame and extending beyond the inner edge of the inner frame portion, a vertical cutting member carried by the counter shaft adjacent to the inner edge of the inner frame portion, means for transmitting motion from the counter shaft to the endless horizontal cutting apparatus, means for transmitting motion from the driving shaft to the counter shaft, longitudinal shafts supported for rotation in the inner frame portion, worms on said shafts projecting above and below the upper and lower faces of said frame portion, a transverse shaft supported for rotation in rear of the worm carrying shafts, bevel pinions upon the rear ends of the worm carrying shafts, bevel pinions supported slidably upon the transverse shaft in rear of the worm carrying shafts and connected for rotation with said shaft, means for independently adjusting the slidable pinions with reference to the pinions upon the worm carrying shafts, a'

winding drum upon the transverse shaft having a rope coiled thereon, and means for transmitting motion to the transverse shaft from the main driven shaft of the machine.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of witnesses.

LOUIS o. WILLIAMS.

' \Vitnesses:

NAT. GAITHER, CHAS. F. MoKnn, LUTHER HArDoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

